Op-Ed: San Jose Should Name a Street after Barack Obama

Should the city of San Jose rename one of its redundant street names after President Barack Obama? (Photo by Evan El-Amin, via Shutterstock)

In the winter of 2008, I was walking through an economically depressed neighborhood of Cleveland, one like many others in America decimated by the mounting recession. For millions of Americans, it seemed like overnight retirement savings vanished, stable jobs disappeared and filled houses emptied.

Tredging through the cold, snow-covered streets that day, I’ll never forget the abandoned houses pockmarking the blocks. One had huge letters painted on the front defensively proclaiming, “NO COPPER HERE.” Initially, I didn’t know what that meant; I later realized times were so desperate copper pipes were being stolen from abandoned homes.

It was a dark time for Cleveland, and an uncertain, unsettling one for our country.

But there’s a radically different memory seared in my mind from that day, one that still touches the nerves on the back of my neck with a powerful twinge of inspiration and hope.

Walking toward one home, I spotted two boys wrapped in puffy coats, maybe 10 years old, gleefully and repeatedly jumping off the porch onto the snow below. They didn’t notice me until I came within earshot and mentioned, “I’m here on behalf of Barack Obama.”

Their reaction was unforgettable. Their faces lit up in instant recognition and they called out repeatedly, “Barack Obama!” as they raced inside to tell their parents “who I was with.”

For these two boys, Barack Obama was unlike most presidential candidates in American history. That’s because both boys were black.

As Barack Obama’s presidency appears in our rear view mirror, I wonder what impact it had on them as they grew up, knowing an African American finally was president of our amazing nation.

Though Americans have varied, sometimes divisive opinions about President Obama, this isn’t in dispute: he was the first person of color in our history to be president. This wasn’t just a huge accomplishment for Barack Obama himself or the African-American community, it was a historic milestone for our entire country.

If racism is America’s original sin, then Barack Obama’s election was a crucial step toward recognizing, and striving to move beyond, this shameful part of our history.

But noting his successful election victories doesn’t even touch on the grace and integrity with which he led America as President through eight, scandal-free years, a Great Recession, ongoing wars and other incredible obstacles. Moreover, he implemented policies which many Californians support and from which we benefit.

For these reasons, I ask city leaders to honor Barack Obama’s historic presidency by naming a street after him.

Some may question: Do we name places after people while they’re alive? Actually, there is precedent in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

San Jose’s main airport (Norm Mineta), train station (Rod Diridon, Sr.) and convention center (Tom McEnery) are all named after local political figures who are still quite active. Additionally, “Ronald Reagan” was added to Washington National Airport six years before his death and Houston’s main airport is named after the 93-year-old President Bush. There are already a handful of American schools named after Barack Obama.

A proposal to name a street after someone is the easy part; just as important is finding the actual street to name. A few options to consider:

As new development occurs in a city like San Jose, say north of San Pedro Square or near a future transit station, San Jose could name a new street after Barack Obama.

Alternatively, we could keep the name of an existing street and add a second, commemorative name as other cities do, like New York.

It reminds me of the first time I drove through Atlanta, where there are two streets named Peachtree. Like the Almadens, the Peachtree streets run parallel through the city center, two blocks apart. I got disoriented and frustrated trying to navigate them. I’d hate for similar confusion and distress to occur for folks visiting San Jose.

In these times, once again dark with uncertainty, people could use a small, meaningful step forward that honors our nation’s history and its first African-American president.

That’s why I started a petition to propel this initiative, with more than 500 signatures and counting. Yours is welcome, too.

Like those Cleveland boys exhilarated by Barack Obama’s candidacy, what if naming a street after President Obama offers similar hope, as well as civic pride, to not only people of color living in Silicon Valley, but all of our residents? That’s a small change a lot of us can believe in.

Alex Shoor is a San Jose resident and advocate for diverse, inclusive communities.

If you’re worried about the taxpayers footing the bill to change the street signs,I’m sure that the funds to do so can be raised privately (Civic Organizations,Silicon Valley Businesses). The cost of changing the addresses on advertising,letterheads & business cards would be borne by those effected & will be negligible,as they have to re-order them regularly regardless. I think naming all the major thoroughfares in San Jose after beloved Democratic politicians is a wonderful idea. It’s a great way to recognize them for their service & accomplishments & would certainly irritate the handful of shrill conservatives who remain in our fine city. Why if you only went by the number of right-wing bigots who constantly ululate here,you’d get the idea that they represent the majority in the 10th largest city in the nation. Nothing could be further from the truth,as one only needs to look in the ballot box to see how marginalized they are & out of step with the majority of their neighbors. Let them whine & insult our intelligence until their faces turn as blue as San Jose voters. They can whine all they want,but they’ll never win an argument or an election here & it drives them crazy. First “Barack Obama Boulevard” & then “Mike Honda Avenue”,”Barbara Boxer Street”,”Nancy Pelosi Drive” & “Jerry Brown Expressway”. The possibilities are as endless as those in opposition to such a fine idea are feckless ! So the fun starts or as Sgt. Carter screamed at that dimwitted hillbilly Gomer Pyle “I can’t hear you” !

@Herb Waman
You sure are full of labels and untruths. Following the Saul Alinsky playbook I see. Your hateful rhetoric is very typical of your hateful society. I was actually in favor of a street dedicated to an exPresidence that I held no respect or honor for if just to satisfy those Americans who did. I would not be offended to giving him his do, but after reading your despicable rant, I would vote against it.

That’s all you got ? As predictable as it is pathetic. He doesn’t insult you because he doesn’t need to stoop to your level & because you’re so insignificant when compared to him (actually there is no real comparison). Obama’s ten times the man you are & a hundred times better human being. Trump’s the real Commie sympathizer,you know it & yet you love him & his comrade Vladimir Putin anyway !

A street named after that racist,vainglorious buffoon in a city where you can’t even get a mainstream Republican candidate for Congress on the General Election Ballot ? Now that’s laugh out loud funny ! Only 21% of Santa Clara County voters voted for Donald Trump in 2016. You do realize that San Jose has a rich Mexican heritage,or did you think they pulled all those Spanish street names out of a hat ? Our Congressional District is the only one in America to have an Asian majority & the majority of white voters here voted for Hillary Clinton. When Trump was campaigning he got such a warm welcome in San Jose that he’s too afraid to ever come back here again. And in Burlingame with the Highway Patrol & Secret Service protecting him,he had to park his limos on the freeway,climb a chain link fence & sneak into the hotel through the backdoor to give his speech. There will never be a street named after him anywhere in the Bay Area,but you’ve given me a great idea. The San Jose Sewage Treatment Plant is the largest tertiary plant in the Western United States. It’s huuuuge ! What could be more fitting than putting his name on a facility that’s as full of **it as he is. I can see it now TRUMP illuminated in gold letters 50ft tall facing Zanker Road & big enough to read from the freeway. I’d wager that if we started a GoFundMe effort to pay for it that the City Council would approve it & save the taxpayers the expense of putting it on the ballot. Threaten our Sanctuary City will you Hair Furor ? Contact Mayor Liccardo & your Councilperson today & let’s all make this happen !

Mr. Waxman, that’s PRESIDENT TRUMP to you. He is your President, just like he’s the President of the minority of voters who wished for someone else. That’s democracy for you.

Now with this self-serving hero worship, it’s clear that taxpayers will once again be expected to forego repairs to our crumbling streets, since re-naming a street will be a higher priority with this Mayor and council, because everything “progressive” is always a higher priority than maintaining the city’s infrastructure.

And for those who claim that this won’t cost taxpayers anything, or that the cost would be “negligible”, they might recall that after it was decided to add a teeny little diacritic to San Jose (making it into something it’s not; San José), the cost turned out to be several hundred thousand dollars. That was in the 1970’s, so tripling the cost to today’s dollars would be a very conservative estimate. But at the time we were assure that adding a diacritic would cost “almost nothing”.

Then there’s everyones’ HE-RO Norman Mineta, who was President G.W Bush’s Secretary of Transportation. (And San Jose still has some of the worst streets in the country.)

Mr. Mineta has had lots of stuff named after him, which long-suffering taxpayers are continually forced to fund. Even the S.J. airport bears Mineta’s name—which was conferred when he was Secrretary of Transportation. (Let’s pause for a moment to imagine the incredible furor that would ensue if President Trump’s appointee had an airport named after him—while he was serving as transportation secretary. But with Saint Norman, that couldn’t possibly be a conflict of interest…)

These politically partisan changes cost money, and lots of it. So if the author would simply make a public pledge that no taxpayer funds would be wasted used for his great new idea, maybe some of the money saved could finally be used to fix the pot holes in our city streets. (It’s also telling that the author didn’t want to putt the question on the next ballot.)

Finally, whatever happened to the sensible practice of naming public monuments after someone ten years after they’ve died? That used to be standard practice. Because with the perspective of time (and no concern over the deceased’s feelings), some public HE-ROes might not be remembered as being quite so saintly.

You may call yourself Smokey,but your memory appears to be quite hazy (or you’re just lying in an attempt to further confuse gullible Trump voters), as Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes the Donald Trump nationwide.

What a great address? Housing prices would soar; love to live on Obama St., Ave, Rd, Hwy. As for the idiots who do not recognize President Obama as the greatest President of our lifetime; well they are part of the minority 35% who aren’t even American.

But Rich shouldn’t mention the percentage of illegals here. I didn’t realize it was 35%. No wonder our taxes are so high.

And what has President Obama actually accomplished? His worshipers are like the Swedish clowns who handed him a Nobel Prize—only twelve (12) days into his term! About the only thing Obama ‘accomplished’ during those 12 days was to order the release of federal funds to pay for abortions in foreign countries. And he didn’t accomplish much more than that during the rest of his two terms, either.

I agree with Rich that the idiots don’t recognize President Obama as the greatest president. And neither do the rational, thinking folks; the majority that elected President Trump. And the majority rules. The national majority.

Why can’t we wait until he’s dead and the historians can evaluate his presidency? But to be fair here he should stand in line like all presidents. Do we have any any any streets in San Jose named after President Ronald Reagan? I’m thinking why not? Are the city leaders THAT partisan? That divided they can’t honor a past president because he was Republican, and conservative? Under Reagan many Latinos came to this country for a better life. Many Black families moved into the middle class. That is why he scared the Soviet Union into tearing down that Berlin wall, ending the regime and freed millions because he was a freedom fighter.

What about Slick Willie Drive, oh wait that probably wouldn’t work, he wasn’t marxist enough for the present politics of the realm. I get that.

instead of a street how about a ~ ~ “A line in the sand” or whatever the phrase was that was part of the greatest human tragedy of the 21st century – 1mm dead, 5mm refugees – – of course that was before he handed the whole mess over to Putin.

Ronnie Raygun “The Fascist Gun in the West” traded guns for hostages & bankrolled right-wing rebels in Nicaragua (both being unlawful at the time) in what is known as the ” Iran-Contra Affair “. “He raised taxes 11 times during his administration” – per GOP Senator Alan Simpson,while lowering the upper tax bracket from 70% to 28%. He sent American troops to Lebanon (a move unanimously opposed by the Joint Chiefs) & then withdrew our troops (“cut & run”) after the Beirut Barracks Bombing killed 241 US Marines. His presidency was marked by multiple scandals,resulting in the investigation,indictment or conviction of 138 administration officials (the largest number of any US President). These included –

HUD Bid Rigging – resulting in the convictions of 16 people including his Secretary of the Interior (James Watt) & Treasurer of the United States (Catalina Vasquez Villalpando).

Savings & Loan Crisis – After the Reagan Administration “closed loopholes” in the tax code 747 financial institutions failed,costing taxpayers $160 Billion Dollars. Coupled with other deregulation this led to the largest political & financial history at that time.

Operation Ill Wind – FBI investigation of corruption between Government & Military Officials & Defense Contractors,leading to the conviction of many including among others the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Melvin Paisley).

EPA Scandals – The Head of the EPA (Anne Burford) was cited for Contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Superfund records,resulting in her resignation. An EPA Administrator (Rita Lavelle) misused EPA funds & was convicted of perjury.

The list goes on & on. He also referred to his astrologer consulting wife Nancy as “Mommy”. Cut funding as Governor of California for Mental Health Care,resulting in thousands of mentally ill people being expelled from state institutions. This shifted the burden to local government & law enforcement without the means or funding to handle them properly. And of course he started going senile long before he finished his second term. Still despite all these issues & the fact that many have said that he would be considered too liberal to run as a Republican today,many of you conservatives still shower him with adoration..Great President ??? That’s just amazing !!!

He didn’t set up a Reagan Foundation to launder bribes from foreign governments?

He didn’t use the IRS, the FBI, and the NSA to spy on his enemies?

He didn’t use the EPA to let con men promote phony “global warming”, steer BILLIONS in government grant money to science fakers, and allow an international global warming scam to establish the biggest crime syndicate in world history sucking TRILLIONS of dollars from the world economy?

Of course once again when presented with indisputable facts,all you have to offer is more laughable alt-right propaganda. Just what we’ve come to expect from you,you’re a joke. 99% of scientists believe that man contributes to global warming & 1% (most paid by energy companies) don’t. Despite your incessant & shrill ululation,only a handful of conspiracy theorists believe any of the other utter nonsense you’ve attempted to convey here. Get back to us when you can actually refute something I’ve said. Nancy’s astrologer says your stars are crossed & your sign is in decline. LMAO !

Herbie! You are hilarious! Keep the comments coming, you are doing wonders galvanizing the right/conservatives. Your commentary is a breath of fresh air! So witty and smart! NO ONE EVER comments like you do, you are truly a special person in the blogosphere!
No need to dispute your sound and undeniable logic, you have proven every point you make!

It’s too late to galvanize the paltry number of conservatives still residing in this vicinity,so I just try to do my part by knocking a little of the rust off of them every chance I get. Sarcasm & false praise certainly aren’t your forte,but eliciting a response from you pinheads is all the obeisance & laudation I seek !

ABSOLUTELY NOT! That would be so offensive to a great many people who live in San Jose. Especially when there had been so much discord over statues of historical figures, ext. We need to strive for peace and unity. We should not promote hate and violence especially right now!

Yes, but none will have cost taxpayers anything approaching the estimated (and climbing) $500 million to build Obama’s presidential library. Or have the distinction almost daily shootings at its south side Jackson Park location. Getting there will be an adventure too by walking from either the IC’s 53 St stop or the bus ride from the Garfield Park L station. I’m not expecting high attendance.

Bless your little heart,but you don’t know what you’re talking about (again). The estimated $500 million dollars needed to build the Obama Library doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything,it will be raised from private donors (like all Presidential Libraries). Further unlike the other Presidential Libraries operated by the National Archives & Records Administration NARA (which cost taxpayers $66 million dollars per year),the Obama Library will be operated by the private Obama Foundation (costing taxpayers zilch) In fact the only cost to taxpayers will be incurred for the NARA’s reproduction of Presidential documents. Insofar as attendance goes that remains to be seen,but I’ll assume we won’t be seeing you there.

Thanks for the insight – and happy to be corrected. It will require an endowment of $1.5B. Only got $2.7M in cash and pledges per their 2016 IRS filing, but expenses consumed $4.8M. Their executive director is paid $500K / year. Forecast for completion by 2022, but I’m not expecting it in my lifetime (or yours assuming you’re over 50) based on the current rate and a scaled back cost of $300M. You might see me in the area as I periodically visit my University of Chicago alma mater and former neighborhood.

Since the CPD & FBI broke up the large Blackstone Rangers street gang years ago, various splinter groups vie for power and are largely responsible for violent crime in the Ranger’s former south side turf. Pretty much the same outcome we saw in Yugoslavia, Iraq and elsewhere after a central authority was toppled. I expect it will impair attendance at the presidential library until public safety is restored. Sadly, Chicago continues to lead the nation in population loss due to conformity with former president Obama’s economic and social policies by ex-chief of staff and current mayor Emanuel.

Name a street after a traitor who paid millions of dollars to Iran and never had to explain why? Or when he freed all the terrorists from GITMO. Not to mention how we divided this country. Put that sign up and it will come down quicker than you can say pumpkin pie.

Not very bright are you ? Nor well informed ! Do you make these things up yourself,or are you so gullible that you believe all that ridiculous right-wing propaganda you read ? Obama’s not a traitor,nor was he ever investigated for being one. On the other hand it looks more & more like Trump is a traitor everyday. At the very least his obstruction of justice & malfeasance will eventually end in his impeachment or resignation. Obama didn’t pay the Iranians anything & consequently didn’t need to explain why. The millions of dollars to which you refer was the Iranian’s own money. They paid for military hardware years ago which was never delivered because of the arms embargo placed on them by our government. After years of negotiations the Obama administration returned their money in cash because that’s how the Iranians wanted it. We had no legal right to keep their money,nor any right to tell them how to spend it upon its return. As far as GITMO is concerned there are still plenty of terrorists being held there awaiting trials. In turn many detainees who were determined to be innocent or those who’s guilt couldn’t be substantiated have been released. Of course your Freudian slip speaks volumes about the divisiveness caused by angry right-wing haters like yourself “not to mention how ‘we’ divided this country”. It wasn’t Obama that divided this country,it was bitter,misinformed & intolerant people like you !

Don’t have much respect for a black President do you ? You’re another prime example of why black people distrust the police so much. Officer Anonymous is a perfect spokesman for all the closeted (& not so closeted) racists patrolling the streets of America everyday. Just another intolerant pussy hiding behind a badge. Scum of the earth & yet he has the audacity to think that he’s better than anybody else because of the color of his skin. Disgusting excuse for a human being & a disgrace to law enforcement.

Wow Waxy. As the great Ronald Reagan would say, “There you go again.”
This pathological compulsion to call people racists is very bizarre but no doubt you’re getting help.
I wish you the best Waxy. And I’m not just saying that.

The only thing great about Ronald Reagan is he’s dead & I think that’s great. The only thing deader than Reagan is the Republican Party & the influence of conservative crackpots here in the South Bay. No one really cares what any of you think,but allowing you to spread such hokum without challenging it’s veracity might lead some to believe it contains a modicum of truth. I understand that all of you powerless political cuckolds need to lash out,if for no other reason than to entertain your small cadre of cohorts. While you may be able to monopolize the Comments @ SJI,it’s only because after coffee & donuts in the morning you have nothing better to do the rest of the day. On the other hand younger more progressive people are for the most part far too busy to waste their time disputing your tiresome drivel. I on the other hand derive a certain amount of enjoyment by pricking your balloons & awaiting the angry response of those of you with your panties in a bunch. I must admit that while your caustic caterwauling never fails to amuse me,your repetitiveness is becoming more tedious & boring everyday. And I’m not just saying that.

> This pathological compulsion to call people racists is very bizarre but no doubt you’re getting help.

Actually, Galtus, the the progressive obsession with “race” is so fundamental that I suspect — SERIOUSLY — that it is encoded in their DNA.

“Race” is just a modern overlay for “tribe”.

The modern construction of “race” is associated with “skin color”, but their are plenty of light skinned people who identify themselves as “black”.

Rachel Dolezal identifies as “black”, but she is almost as white as Rich Robinson (who likewise probably identifies himself as a tribalist of the “black” tribe}. Barack Hussein Obama’s mommy was one hundred percent white.

Tribalism is a very ancient and primitive human behavior. Tribalism is the basis for an ethos of “fairness” and unquestioning loyalty to the tribal shaman.

Tribalism is, fundamentally, the acceptance of and fealty to a particular shaman.

Waxy and Rich Robinson simply have satisfied their primitive human need for “fairness”, “belonging”, and “tribal warfare” by attaching themselves to a shaman whose “brand” is “black”.

They could just as well have attached themselves to a shaman whose brand was “Chevrolet” or “Hillary Clinton”.

Mr. Waxman, YOU sir, are the person who injected race into the discussion. It’s interesting because, in doing so, you reveal quite a lot about your own racism. You assume that a ‘person of color’ has to think a certain way, vote a certain way, believe a certain way, see things a certain way. You assume, based on my comments – all of which identified some of the various scandals and criminal/unlawful actions of the past administration and NOTHING to do with race or skin color – that I am NOT a person of color.

Mr. Waxman – by making these unfounded and baseless assumptions, you reveal your own bigotry as well as your own insensate hatred of people who simply have disagreements with you based on principle or personal conviction. Prejudice is prejudice regardless of the color of the person expressing it and regardless of the political affiliations of the person in question. More than that, your insistence that people of a certain color SHOULD or MUST believe as you do is just another expression of the totalitarianism you assert that you condemn. Again, totalitarianism is totalitarianism, regardless of the color of the skin or political beliefs of the person in question.

It’s funny because the side that purports itself to be the champions of diversity and tolerance (liberals/progressives/Democrats) are, in fact the least tolerant of other points of view and the least tolerant of the concept of diversity of thought or perspective.

For myself, I don’t care about race, color, sexual preference or gender. None of those are important to me at all. I took an oath years ago to uphold and defend the Constitution. I hold myself to that oath every day, despite being retired for a few years now. I have an incredibly diverse assortment of people in my life whom I call friends. They’re my friends not because they are diverse, but because they are decent human beings. That counts for everything in my life. After that, I just care about factual reasoned debate, even when there is disagreement.

President Obama will be recognized as one of our better Presidents & could have accomplished much more if he hadn’t been stymied at every turn by recalcitrant Republican legislators. I stand by my original assessment of your character (or lack thereof) & would like to add that people like yourself are a boil on the butt of the body politic of our fine nation. Your certainly entitled to your opinion & that’s all it is – your opinion. The opinions,conjecture,speculation & assumptions that lead to your conclusions aren’t necessarily derived from the facts,the truth or based on reality. You can allege or surmise any ridiculous thought your addled brain can concoct,but lacking concrete evidence of a factual nature they’re totally worthless. Facts are facts & can’t be disputed,views based solely on inept postulation & conspiracy theories aren’t facts at all. Opinions presented as facts are the forte of the conservative & alt-right media as demonstrated daily by Fox News,Breitbart,Limbaugh,O’Reilly & their old angry white adherents like yourself. Then Trump has the audacity & unmitigated gall to call factual reporting of his own high crimes & misdemeanors “fake news”. The bigotry & amazing intolerance of the conservative religious right is only exceeded by their collective piosity & hypocrisy. Their self-serving claim to the moral high-ground in America today is tenuous at best & extremely dangerous when left unchallenged. Remember that – “When fascism comes to America,it will be wrapped in the flag & carrying a Bible” – Sinclair Lewis (1935)

Waxman: “eliciting a response from you pinheads is all the obeisance & laudation I seek !” – aka troll.

I assume Mr. Waxman (or whatever his actual name) is white and don’t see many at any of the events I attend at the African-American Community Service Agency. Interesting to see folks that choose to excoriate than to actually help others in the community.

AACSA offers a free after-school STEM tutoring program that is open to all races.

????? Another eloquent Trump voter sharing his insightful viewpoint. Did you skip breakfast to start drinking or did you start last night ? Is English your second language comrade,or could it be your fifth grade education that betrays you ? If you ever form a cognizant thought please share it,but we won’t hold our breath waiting on you. You wouldn’t be “Special Ed” Rober would you ? If you are I apologize !

Unfortunately, your biased and hateful rhetoric is just as childish as it is disappointing. I would think someone of your intellectual caliber could conjure an original thought, or keep the masses from becoming bored with your constant beating on pots and pans with your proverbial wooden spoon.
You have YET to come up with an original idea, your unsubstantiated postulations and shrill declarations hold no credibility or interest for the reader, and your arrogance is displayed on every post you attempt.

Do everyone a favor. Stay home, stay off the computer, and get back on your medication.

Oh MR Waxhead your sooo funny.
I propose just naming and intersection for Obummer. We have White road do we have a Black Ave that intersects it? Good spot. Or maybe the intersection Old Oakland Rd and Mayberry RFD where the black and white world collided under the heavy hand of Obummer and the current occupants are the reflection of the resulting turbulence of his wonderful success. Now it’s a shovel ready job!